Midget Next Door
by Fullmetal Pipsqueek
Summary: Ichigo is still not back completely after his mother's death five years ago. Can our favourite midget help him? AU
1. Chapter 1

**Look, I'm hoping you like this. This is my first attempt ever at an Alternate Universe fanfic, and it's straight off the Sputtering Candle Production Line.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, magic 8 ball says that I don't own Bleach. I'm still trying, though. Copy my stuff, and I'll skin you alive.**

* * *

"That's the last of it," Byakuya set the last box beside the front door, and slid down the wall to the floor. "If you want help unpacking, ask your sister." Byakuya stood up, and hugged his sister-in-law.

"Thanks. You can go now; I'll bring Hisana back later when I kick her out." Rukia pecked him on the cheek, and went to the other side of the room to start unpacking one of the boxes, leaving room for Hisana to kiss Byakuya good-bye.

Hisana closed the door after her husband walked out. She leaped over the oversized, leather couch and took a few knickknacks to start putting them on the mantle.

"How did you hook him?" Rukia asked, placing one encyclopedia after another on the floor-to-cieling bookcase. "Wish I had the luck you do."

"Rukia, you know damn well we met at a bar seven years ago. I still need to thank that guy that made me the fake ID." Hisana went over to help Rukia with her books.

"Speaking of thanking people, thanks for helping me pay for this house. I couldn't stand another day in those dorms, no matter how much you paid me." Rukia side-hugged her favourite big sister. "I'm so happy you're a lawyer, and Bya-nii is born rich."

"Whatever, Lady Freeloader. You've lived in our basement for the past six months." She play smacked Rukia.

"I was trying to save up for a place that I'm cofortable in. It can't get much more comfortable than living in your basement, and eating Celia's cooking." Rukia went over to another box, and carried it into her bedroom. "Would you grab that one over there?" Rukia nodded to a box labled 'Shoes.'

* * *

Rukia flopped down on her newly made bed, and sighed. She was _exausted._She'd just taken Hisana home, and it was now two in the morning. They'd spent the last six hours unpacking, and had gone to the Walmart on the other side of town to get groceries after they unpacked the kitchen.

Rukia was just about to drift off to sleep when she noticed the pounding at her front door. She grabbed a butcher knife on her way to answer the door, and jerked it open angrily. "What the hell do you want?" She glared at the orange haired man standing on her porch.

"I'm sorry it's so late, but I just got in, and wanted to say welcome to the neighborhood." He held his arms up in defence. "I'm Ichigo, by the way. I live in the one next door with my family. University stundent, and I'm still living at home. Kind of pathetic, huh?" He dropped his arms.

"Not as pathetic as being beaten up by a very tired girl." Rukia set her knife down on the end table besude the door. "You have ten seconds to get off my property, or I'll call the cops. Try knocking in the daylight!" She slammed the door in his face, and watched him through the big bay window as he ran off into his own house.

She stretched out on her couch, and turned on the TV. News. Boring, but she was too tired to give a flip.

"Great, now I'll never get to sleep." Rukia layed her forearm over her eyes, listening to the news anchor ramble about the newly escaped murderer in Arkansas. "Geeze, now I'm going to be thinking about some psycho maniac who's not even in my own damned state for the remander of the night." She muted the TV, and pulled the afghan off the back of the couch, spreading it over her legs before she went off to dreamland.

* * *

Ichigo tossed the baseball repeatedly up in the air, thinking about the black-headed midget he just met thirty minutes before. He'd been dared by his friend to go 'greet the new chick,' as he put it. He didn't expect ichigo would actually do it.

He looked up at a knock at his door. _Shit. Dad heard the front door open...I knew I should have gone up through the window! _Ichigo jumped up, and opened the door. "Hey."

"Hey, son! Did you score?" Isshin has been hell-bent on grandchildren since he first learned Ichigo was 'waving at his chin.' "Was it that girl you've been with for the past year? The redhead?"

"We broke up three months ago. She's with Uryu. If you're that desperate to know about someone's love life, bug him." Ichigo drove his fist into his father's face, and made his nose bleed. "His number's in the phone book!" He then slammed the door in his face.

Ichigo opened up the media player on his laptop, and hooked it up to the surround-sound speakers he'd gotten for his fifteenth birthday from his mother. He glanced over at the picture of her hanging up on the wall, and went back to the media player. He missed her, a lot. Ichigo went into the folder that she's saved to a CD when he was nine. It had all her favourite music in it, and one song that reminded Ichigo of her a lot. Shooting Star, by Bad Company.

He buried his face in the sweater he'd wrapped around his pillow. Masaki had gotten it for her thirtieth birthday from the whole family. It wasn't much, but it was what she wanted, so she got it.

That was almost eleven years ago.

"Damn it! Why'd you have to leave, mom? Why'd you have to die on us, on me?" Ichigo through his fist into the wall, making a nice-sized dent.

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**Well, what ya think?**

**Shorty**


	2. Chapter 2

**Got another chater for ya! I didn't plan on posting again until tomorrow, but what the hell? You people deserve it. And I'm sugar-high on cherry twizzlers...**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Bleach is not mine, and I'll never inherit it from Kubo Tite, unless I can get him to adopt me...**

* * *

Ichigo woke up to his sister shutting down the media player. And it was his favourite song, too. The Stroke, by Billy Squire. "Yuzu, I was listening to that!" He threw one fo hs oversized pillows at her.

"You were asleep!" She threw it back at him. "Now get your skinny ass out of bed."

"You throw like a girl, you know that?" He got up, and re-opened his media player.

"Still not as pathetic as the way you throw. I still don't see how you managed to win all those baseball games..." Yuzu ducked when he threw a pen at her, and it got stuck in the wall. "You got five minutes 'till breakfast, so hurry the hell up!" She shouted at him as she jogged down stairs.

"That girl is too hyper in the mornings, especially on the weekends..." Ichigo put on a pair of Levi Strauss bluejeans, and grabbed a sweatshirt, puttinting on as he walked downstairs.

"Look what the cat drug up!" Karin smiled at him, that annoying smile she did when she wanted somethng. "Ichigo, can I-"

"No. Just because I'm mooching off my family doesn't mean I need to give my sister any money." He kissed the top of her head.

"Do I need to tell Dad who it was that dented up his car? No Dad, Ichigo went joyriding in it, he never was at the mall," Karin said in a preppie voice. Ichigo went back upstairs to get his wallet. "Blackmail rules!" Karin stole a piece of sausage from the plate on the counter, and Yuzu smacked her on the arm.

* * *

"But, Yuzu has already set another place at the table!" Isshin said to a not-so-awake Rukia. "Please!"

"Will you shut up if I come over to your house to have breakfast, and let me attempt to make you dinner to get you back for waking me up at _seven thirty _on a _Saturday?"_Rukia slammed the door in his face, and returned about five minutes later, fully dressed, hair rushed and the whole shebang. "You will be eating my cooking, burnt to a crisp or not."

"Okay, as long as you let us treat you to breakfast!" Isshin had it in his head that everyone cooked like Yuzu, even though he'd seen Karin's and his own attempts to cook turn into a disaster.

"Whatever." Rukia still wasn't awake, and really hoped that they had coffe, black. She slowly walked into the house, following Isshin's happy skipping. "I really don't want to see you on a sugar high." Karin scooted over on the couch, leaving room for Rukia.

"You never want him to drink coffe, either." Karin put her magazine on the coffe table, and leaned against the arm of the couch. "That's why we never keep it around." She chuckled when she saw Rukia's face fall. "I'll get you something else that's caffenated. You have anything against Monster?" Karin led Rukia into the kitchen, and tossed her an oversized can from the fridge. Rukia poppe it open, and downed about half of it in one sitting.

"Thanks. I needed that." She smiled at Karin, and they sat down at the table. "Whatever your sister's cooking smells really good."

"Hey, Karin, here's your- why the hell is our new neighbor sitting at the kitchen table?" He glanced at Rukia, and glared at Karin when she snatched his wallet from his hand, leaving him with the fifty dollars he was supposed to give her.

"You're way-too-hyper father pounded at my door until I answered, and made me agree to eat breakfast with your family. I'm making dinner for you guys tonight, so I suggest you skip lunch." Rukia took another drink of her Monster.

"Why are you sitting at my kitchen table, and I don't even know your name?" Ichigo sat down on the other side of Karin.

"You can call me Rukia, Raggedy Anne." Rukia looked over at Karin when she began chuckling.

* * *

Rukia dried the last plate, and began to help Yuzu put them all in the cabinet.

"Do you go to Jefferson High?" Rukia asked the younger girl.

"Mmm-hmm. I'm stuck with the worst math teacher. Apparently, he' been there since the schol opened in the seventies." Yuzu grimaced at the thought of Ancient Anderson.

"Anderson? I had him; wanted to kill him, too." Rukia pulled a knife out of the knife rack, and stabbed the air.

"What do I do if he threatens me with a week of dentention?" Yuzu put the last plate into the cupboard, and leaned on the counter.

"Accept it, and plot his death that night." Rukia kept a straight face for about ten seconds, and she and Yuzu both began laughing.

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**Another chapter for ya! Hope you like it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, people! Hope you had a Happy turkey Day! Got another update for ya, and I'm probably going to update Feels So Right somethime tomorrow, hopefully in the morning. Shout outs to my reviewers, and my family, and Linda Perry who's making us dinner tomorrow! I'm so glad that so many people (all three of you) have reviewed in two chapters; that's a lot more than I expected to get in two chapters...**

**Disclaimer: Uunfortunately, Bleach is not mine. I do own this fic, and if I catch you copying it in any way, I'll be forced to sick the dark forces on you.

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**Rukia dumped the stir-fry out of her electric wok, and onto a plate to set on the table. She couldn't do a whole lot of home-cooking, most of it came out of a box or was take-out, but stir-fry was one of the few things she could cook on her own. 

She ran to the door when she heard someone pounding on it, and saw through the window that Karin pushe dher brother out of the way, silencing the thudding.

Rukia opened the door, and the whole family came flooding in, and Isshin made himself at home on Rukia's leather couch, while everyone else was politely leaning against the wall, waiting to be told to make themselves at home.

"Just don't break anything, or kill yourselves," Rukia said, while going back into her kitchen to pour drinks.

Yuzu followed, and started taking things to the table at Rukia's request.

"This smells really good; better than mine even," Yuzu boasted a little, and took a few of the glasses of iced tea to the table.

"I'd offer something else to drink, but I neglected to buy milk last night, and I don't drink soda, so you're left with coffe, which I don't want to offer your father." Rukia realized how mean that sounded. "Not that I don't like him, it's just..."

"He's too hyper!" They said in unison.

Rukia called every one into the dining room about five minutes later, and they started piling food onto their plates, and came back for seconds when the plates got empty.

* * *

Rukia put the last dish into the cupboard, and she and Karin walked out into the living room to watch the idiot box with Ichigo. Yuzu and Isshin had gone home a few minutes earlier, because Isshin was starting to fall asleep; I guess being an annoying pest can take a lot out of a guy.

"You guys have anything against a vampire movie?" Rukia went over to her entertainment center, and opened up one of the drawers to a bunch of violent R-rated movies.

"You got The Lost Boys?" Karin sat down on the arm of the couch, and Ichigo pushed her off the end, getting himself punched in the leg.

"Just about to put it in." Rukia curled up at the other end of the couch, and Karin sat in the middle, making sure to kick Ichigo in the thigh.

About halfway through the movie, Karin fell asleep in her brother's lap, and Rukia was stretched out across the first two cushions, her legs behind Karin's. Ichigo was about to nod off himself, and stood up, knocking Karin to the ground.

"Jerk! If we weren't in somebody else's house, I'd have done kneed you in the groin!" Karin shouted, dusting herself off.

"You're in your right mind, Karin," Rukia said, standing up from her spot on the couch, stretching a little.

"Thanks." Karin walked out the door, and Ichigo followed about a second later, saying good-bye to Rukia.

* * *

Ichigo signed on to AIM, and began a chat with his best friend.

orangestilts998: Hey.

superdude2000: ...

orangestilts998: Ate dinner at new chick's house 2night.

superdude2000: homemade or out of a box?

orangestilit998: homemade. She can cook almost as good as my sister.

superdude2000: impossible

orangestilit998: not. we watched TLB after dinner, and then Karin and I came back. I just got back a fw minutes ago.

superdude2000:...

orangestilts998: seeing as you seem to have nothing to say, I'm gonna go.

superdude2000: TTYL

_superdude2000 signed off._

Ichigo shut the laptop down, and went to take a shower. He grabbed a pair of flannel pants, and a pair of boxers that said "Bite Me" on the butt.

* * *

**Sorry it's fairly short, but I'm getting a bit tired, and I need my beauti sleep. Should take any day now...**

**Shorty**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, people! I'm sorry I didn't update as early as I should have, but I was busy trying to come up with an update for Feels So Right, and to top it off, I had a head cold, which i still have...  
**

**Disclaimer:Bleach is not mine...**

* * *

Ichigo walked out of the convenience store, a six pack in one hand, his jacket in the other. It was the middle of November, and it's just now starting to get cold. Ichigo set his beer down on a bench, and put the jacket on, zipping it up to his chin. 

"Shit," he swore, "The weather in the _deep_ south is too damn weird. One minute it's scorching, the next I'm freezing my ass off." Ichigo picked up his beer, and started the half-mile trek to his home.

He walked in the door about fifteen minutes later, and checked the caller ID to see who called, and who didn't. His friends knew not to call on this day, and the anniversery. He flopped down on the couch, and opened up a beer. It's going to be one long night.

* * *

Rukia looked out her window, and saw her orange-haired neighbor walkinto his house, slamming the door behind him. _What is with that family? _She went into her kitchen, and pulled her open-faced roast beef sandwich from the microwave. Byakuya had stopped by earlier, and brought her a bunch of groceries; meat, veggies, the whole shebang. 

"I still wonder where the hell she found him..." Rukia dug her fork into the meat. "Shit! I forgot the gravy," Rukia pulled a can from one of the cupboards, and poured half of it into a bowl to heat up in the microwave.

After completing her masterpiece, she took it into the living room, and turned on the TV. She was going to check on Ichigo after she finished dinner, which wouldn't be for another thirty minutes, considering The Golden Girls is on.

She's got such an exciting life, doesn't she?

After her show was over, she went to rinse off her plate and put it in the dishwasher. _Maybe he'll want something to eat, _she thought to herself, pausing as she set the pristine plate in the rack. Rukia opened the refridgerator door, and pulled out a few ingredients.

She may have had a really good sandwich, but he was getting something not much more than instant spaghetti.

She put the tray in the oven on a cookie sheet, and leaned against the counter for the five minutes it took to heat up.

After putting some foil over the top of her neighbor's dinner, she started out of the kitchen, and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels out of a cupboard on her way.

* * *

Ichigo looked up from his second beer at the tone of the doorbell. "DAmn it! Why can't I just be left alone on this day?" He jerked the door open, and took another drink of his beer. "What the hell do you want?" 

"To bring you dinner. Your father requested that I check on you tonight. He called me at five this morning. Do you know how the hell he got it?" Rukia pushed her way passed him, going into the kitchen to set the spaghetti on the kitchen table. "You are now the proud owner of a bottle of Jack Daniels, also."

"Joy. What did you bring me for dinner? Hopefully you didn't spend all day cooking for me; I might think you had a crush on me." He took another drink of the acoholic beverage, frowning a little when he realized it was warming up.

"Please. I have better tastes than that. When do you want dinner?"

"Not hungry right now, but thanks for the booze." He drank the last of his beer, andpulled two glasses out of a cabinet. "Ice?"

"Considering i pulled this out of a cabinet, I'm gonna say yeah. Why are you alone today, if you don't mind me asking?" She ran a hand through her hair, and rolled the sleeves of her lilac sweater up halfway.

"My father didn't tell you?" He looked at her, handing her the glass of Jack Daniels. "My mom died fove years ago; it'll be six next June. Today's her birthday, and my family went to her grave, to throw her a party of sorts," A tear rolled down Ichigo's face, and he just ignored it. "She would've been forty-one this year, but we had to go out that night. A friend was in the hospital, and we were going to see her," He was sobbing a little, and a few more tears started rolling down his face. "She was hit by a car, and never made it home. Dad said it was instant, and that she didn't suffer any..." Ichigo sat down on the table next to Rukia, and took a lon drink of the alcohol.

"I'm-" Ichigo cut her off.

"Don't you dare apologize. It wasn't your fault." He took another drink, and Rukia took a drink of her's.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, people! Hope you liked it; I had to write this about eight this morning while I was waiting for my mom to make breakfast...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey people! Hope this update goes as wel as the others have; I'm writing this on a school computer, so I have to censor what I say...It sucks, big time! It won't let me onto here, so I've had to e-mail this to myself, which is a real bummer. I've got to wait forever to get this to load on my computer, because the school e-mail server takes forever to load on my computer, considering I have my school address loaded into Microsoft Outlook, and I have my home address loaded into Thunderbird...**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Bleach is not mine. This fanfic, however, is. If I catch you copying it in any way, shape, or form, I'll personally come over and tie the long hair on your head to the short hair on your butt, and kick you down the street.**

* * *

Ichigo jumped at the knock on his bedroom door. While I'm thinking about it, how the hll did I get up here? He remembered last night, when Rukia had brought him the bottle of Jack Daniels, and he'd told her about why he was upset.

Why on earth he did, he didn't know, nor did he care to try to find out.

"What do you want?" He leaned against the wall as he opened the door, clutching his head because of his hangover. He felt like he was going to greet last night's dinner, which had also been provided by Rukia.

He knew she could cook, but he never thhought her cooking would taste as good as the Stouffer's Lasagna.

"Twenty bucks, and a ride to my game tomorrow night." Karin ran a hand through her hair, looking at her brother as if to say, 'I didn't do anything wrong,' which made him a bit suspicious.

"Here," He fished his wallet out of his jeans' pocket, which were hanging on his closet door, and threw it at her. "Take what you want. Now let me get back to sleep. My first class isn't 'till later, so what's the point in getting up now?" He glanced at the clock, and flopped back into his bed.

"Well, too bad. Dad want's you to get the yard mowed down before noon. Now get to it!" Karin ran downstairs, and grabbed her jacket on her way out the door.

* * *

Rukia puled the dark purple sweater over her head, and pulled her jacket on over it. She had her first class at nine, which was Political Science, and it was a half hour drive to the University. That's the one bad thing about moving out of the dorms, and on the other side of town.

She doesn't get to sleep in anymore.

She grabbed her cup of coffe off the end table, took a big drink, leaving it empty, and ran out the door. She returned a few seconds later realizing that she forgot her keys. That's not necessarily a bad thing, considering she knew how to hotwire a car; she'd gotten her principal's car onto the roof of the highschool five years before.

She just didn't want to risk helping someone steal her own car.

The moment she started up her 4X4, she turned the heater up full blast, and then sped off onto the highway. What a reckless driver...

* * *

Rukia ran from the building, out to her truck. That was the longest two hours of her life. She got to watch a slide show, and also has a five-page essay due next Friday.

Whoop-dee-flippin'-do!

She crammed her stuff into the back of her truck, and jumped in, speeding off towards her house for lunch. A large helping of some lasagna sounded great as of late.

As she drove herself home, she thought about what Ichigo had told her last night. It was none of her busness, yet she still asked. She regretted it, now.

What he said played over and over in her head.

_She was hit by a car. She never made it home. _

_It was instant, so she didn't suffer. The moment I realized it, I cried for several days, and didn't come out of my room. Karin cried for a few minutes at first, and hasn't let us see her cry since. Yuzu cried whenever she found something that even remotely reminded her of Mom, but didn't cry at the funeral._

_We all had nightmares for awhile after that, even Dad. But we rarely spoke of them, partly because of the gore in them._

She shook her head of all the thoughts invading her mind, so she wouldn't get upset herself. Ichigo had broken down last night, after they'd finished the Jack Daniels. Isshin walked in right then, and Rukia and Karin carried the poor boy upstairs, a somewhat drunken Rukia explaining what happened afterwards.

He'd had most of the Jack Daniels, and she had two glasses, washing it down with some of the Corona he'd bought.

* * *

Ichigo flipped through his textbook, and took a bite of his sandwich. He'd finished mowing the yard an hour before, taken a shower, and was now eating lunch. He was also bored out of his skull, enough to study for his test that's coming up this Thursday.

Ichigo looked up as his neighbor pulled into her driveway, and stomped out of her truck, looking a bit annoyed.

"Hey!" He called, trying to be friendly.

"What?!" Rukia called back, a glare plastered to her face.

"No need to be a bitch!" He realized that was a mistake when she through her stuff down on the ground, and leaped over the white picket fence.

Rukia was right in front of him about a second later. "I _dare _you to call me a bitch _one more time_." She grabbed him by the shirt collar, lifted him up a bit, and through him back, making him hit the porch swing pretty hard.

"Looks like _someone's_having a bad day..." He muttered, finishing up his sandwich.

* * *

**There's another chapter for ya. Took me forever and a day, but I got it done. It helped me pass time in my tech class, and I had to finish the rest through my e-mail.**

**Hope you liked it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey people! I'm updating from a school computer again; my ELA teacher has us in a lab for this thing on the internet, so I'm utilizing my leftover time in here for good instead of evil.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine, and unfortunately it never will be. This fanfic is, though, and if you copy it, I'll have to brutally murder you, and be the first person under 18 on America's Most Wanted.**

* * *

"What's wrong with her?" Ichigo thought aloud to himself, curious as to why his neighbor seemed to have a 'stick upher skinny behind,' as Karin would put it.

Ichigo went inside, taking his plate into the kitchen to put in the dishwasher. Now he really needed to get cramming for that annoying test of his.

His professor was brutal with those things, testing them every way he could. Ichigo knew that Forensic Pshycology was going to be difficult, but he never dreamed it would be this difficult.

He pulled his text book from the coffe table, and turned to their current chapter.

"Helloooo, Ichigo!" Ichigo jumped when he heard his father's voice. He could bew so annoying sometimes. "Watcha doin'?"

"Attempting to study, old fart. It would be a heckuva lot easier if you'd shut up and let me finish," Ichigo brushed his poor, unwanted father off.

"Fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted!" Isshin stalked off to his office; he needed to get some paperwork done, anyway.

"Thank you!" Ichigo went back to studying, and blinked a few times at a few very large words. What a day for him to have the remnants of a hangover.

* * *

Rukia slammed her bedroom door shut, and spred her things out on the bed. She didn't have much homework, for now at least. She still had her afternoon classes, which started at two, and she was out of the last one at six.

Tomorrow, she only had one class, and it was something that's pretty much required. Some math course.

She spent the majority of her drive home thinking about what Ichigo told her. Then when she got home, he called her a bad name. She's currently plotting a way to dye his underwear pink, or she could toilet paper his car!

Better yet, she could hotwire it, and wreck it. What a devious little girl.

Rukia then considered the possibility that she could get arrested for 'stealing' a car. In reality, she's just borrowing it without permission, and returning it in poor condition.

Whatever. She has a homework assignment due in several days, and it's more fun to just dream.

* * *

Rukia got out of her truck, and went into the oversized building for her anatomy class. She just picked a random course that looked remotely interesting when she signed up for these classes, and she discovered that the body is an amazing thing.

What a nerd.

She ran up the stairs to the third floor, and took a seat in the back of her room. There were only a few people in this class, maybe ten of twelve at the most, but not many.

Who she saw walk in the door seemed to suprise her.

"Kurosaki, what the hll are you doing here?" Rukia glared at him, and resisted the temptaion to flip him the bird.

"I've been in this class forever." Ichigo took the seat next to her, and slamed his binder and text book down on the desk. "What are you doing here?"

"Always been here. Why haven't I seen you here, before?" She ran a hand through her raven locks, and turned toward him in her seat. She thought for a minute before she smacked him upside the head.

"What in the flip was that for, Midget?"

"You called me a btch earlier today, so you deserve it. Now answer my question."

"You I usually sit closer to the door, and you always sit back here, and-" He was cut off when their professor walked in. "Talk to you later."

* * *

**Hey, peeps! Sorry it was a bit short, but I have limited time on these stupid computers, for one, and my stupid brain is running out of power. I'm sorry it was short, but I still hope you liked it.**

**Shorty**


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